Three private TV networks in Turkey were fined by the country's Audiovisual Council, after they broadcasted the video "Can't Remember to Forget You" by Shakira and Rihanna, under the argument that the video "promotes homosexuality".

The FIBA EuroBasket Championships started with a bang on Wednesday as upsets and nail-biting matches dominated the opening day of the three-week FIBA World Cup qualifier. On Thursday, the action is expected to get even more intense as all 24 participating teams try to gain some momentum in a very competitive tournament.

Brazil-based Condor Non-Lethal Technologies SA confirmed that it sold the tear gas that Turkish security forces are using against their own people in the 2013 protests that have rocked Istanbul and other cities, adding that the gas is "specifically designed to temporarily incapacitate people without causing them permanent damage or death".